buy or carry on renting??

thequant

evoke wrote: »

Erm...the OP hasn't actually got a job. I assume she's on benefits currently. And trying to buy a property.

yes she is on "benefits". hubby earns £15k, they are topped up with credits and benefits (which they wouldnt get if she was working)

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3063088

as for her getting a good job,it looks like she has her degree from sheffield hallam ranked 76 on times university list. so a job in starbucks or tesco is more likely than some high flying management career.

before anyone splits hairs between benefits and tax credits, thankfully the tory goverment have cleared this one up with the introduction of universal credit. i.e. those who dont work or are low waged will receive the same benefit.

I think the only constructive advice I can give her, is that she seems quite adept at being able to play the system and should carry on so.

e.g. wangle her way into some local authority housing and use the right to buy system to scrounge some more cash of the great british public.

billricardi

The other posters haven't really covered one of the key reasons NOT to buy in your situation: Permanence.

I cover this in my book, but in brief: The majority of your costs for buying a home happen in the first few years of ownership. That's when your payments (on most loans) are going mostly or fully towards interest, so you're getting little to no equity for your money. That's when you pay for moving in, decoration, repairs, and the like.

It makes NO sense to buy a home, only to get an amazing job offer... 100 miles away. You have no real way of insuring that this is the right move for you over the long term. If you get an awesome job offer elsewhere, you're suddenly saddled with a home that you have to rent at a loss in this market, or sell for a huge one time loss because of up front fees, sometimes loan penalties, discount of a forced sale, etc.

So NO, don't buy without a steady source of income that can be made LOCAL to your home, or within a reasonable distance/easy commute. Otherwise all you're doing is setting even more limitations on yourself in a tough job market, and a tough housing market. Sort your job out first, then look at buying.

Jimmy_31

Damn, seems like i missed a trick again. If i had my time over again it would obviously have been beneficial to me to go to uni instead of a trade college and then i could have gotten a 20k loan to cover my house deposit, the way im getting my house deposit together is by working as hard as i can every hour i can and saving every penny i can so that i can get a decent deposit together.

Seems a bit pointless for me to be doing this as i work in the construction industry so due to the downturn i and many others are only employed on a self employed sub-contractor basis so currently no bank will give me a mortgage because i sometimes end up out of work for a few weeks at a time so im a risk apparently. When i am out of work i cant claim one single penny in benefits because i am over the savings limit (house deposit in bank) so i have to live off these savings till i can find work again which in effect lowers my house deposit and worsens my house buying chances yet again, so consequently it disgusts me when people play the benefit system.

IMHO i should be entitled to jobseekers allowance whilst i am looking for work so that i can feed myself and not have to spend my house deposit. Granted some people will disagree with this statement and whilst i can understand why they would disagree its very very disheartening to work hard and pay my taxes and then not be entitled to claim anything back after paying in for years and years. In my opinion if i cant claim any benefits then whatever portion of my tax goes towards the benefit fund shouldnt be taken from me. some will agree with me and some wont but thats how i feel. the harder i work the more money i make results in me putting more money into the benefits fund that im not entitled to claim from

Its becoming more and more difficult to justify working and looking after myself in this country when some people are just constantly playing the system. Sadly i havent got it in me to just give up work and join the gravy train (couldnt live with the shame) so im destined for a lifetime of giving my money away and getting nothing in return.

Also to the OP dont worry about your housing situation because once the new help for FTB government scheme kicks in there is another 20k available to get your hands on, i wont be using the scheme as its a blatant scam but the options there for you if you want it.

ladylouise62

I would not advise you to move without careful consideration of the full costs of owning your own house. As people have pointed out, there are many costs included in rent that you would would now need to add to the mortgage value. E.g. New boilers (cost thousands to replace), building work (roof wear and tear always comes as an expensive surprise), building insurance (which alone would cost another £10 to £15 a month on top of contents insurance alone), or even something like an insect/rat/mould invasion... and that's just the start of it.
It you end up unable to afford your rent, you move, if you end up unable to afford your mortgage you lose a home and lots of money.

t0rt0ise

I read that other thread about the OP thinking of moving to Essex and it did make me think that people are wanting to be very safe. Some didn't want her to move away from family for child care reasons.. oh dear. I presume that the move isn't an option any more but really to get anything you have to take a risk. And if it all goes wrong you'll have to try something else.. sell up and rent again or move to a cheaper area or whatever.

Anyway I get the impression that you're going to buy whatever anyone says and are really just looking for encouragement so you'll do it anyway.

bristol_pilot

Sorry OP, but I agree with others that you need a bit of a reality check. £19.5k for a couple, or even one person, is a low wage and not nearly in house-buying territory. People on 2 or 3 times that amount are priced out of the house market. Renting will keep you mobile, which you will need to be in the future as you will both probably need to move around quite a bit to secure better paid work. I believe the average age of first time buyers is around 40 right now.

bristol_pilot

Sorry OP, but I agree with others that you need a bit of a reality check. £19.5k for a couple, or even one person, is a low wage and not nearly in house-buying territory. People on 2 or 3 times that amount are priced out of the house market. Renting will keep you mobile, which you will need to be in the future as you will both probably need to move around quite a bit to secure better paid work. I believe the average age of first time buyers is around 40 right now.